Tips to SAVE on your Grocery Bill

First things first...

Is anybody else as obsessed with them as me?!?!

An American Princess?!?! I know, I know she won't be a Princess, she'll be a Duchess, but CLOSE ENOUGH! She is absolutely stunning (I need a white coat) and I just love how he looks at her! Prince Harry has always been my fave out of the two. Aren't they so cute together? I thought they were so sweet to each other in their interview. Mike dreams of having a Corgi and when I told him the Queens Corgi's took to Meghan right away he was like "She's a good one and extremely lucky!" HA! Did you hear the story about her ring? So thoughtful. I will be anxiously counting down the days until Spring 2018. I CANNOT WAIT to see her dress!

Fun fact, Mike and I were married the same year as Will and Kate and we all joked that our wedding was the REAL royal wedding that year. I remember thinking about how I wanted all the women at my wedding to wear fancy hats. Those royals sure know how to do it! So who's up for getting married next year?!? I need another "royal wedding" to attend. #nopressure

Okay, on to saving on your grocery bill.....

The biggest question I get asked is how we afford to have four kids (five including Auntie Lexi). I'm a stay at home mom and my husband is an electrician. Well, if you want to get technical he's an electrical apprentice and does not have his electrical license yet. We're a few months out from that. In  the past 3 years we've cut our income drastically when my husband switched careers and added 2 more kids to the mix. Our expenses went up and our available funds plummeted. We were panicked and weren't sure how we would afford LIFE. It took us awhile but I can say proudly that we have figured out how to feed our family of seven with a budget of $150-$175, sometimes $200 a week. Yep, we keep it under $200 a week. And truth is, I don't use coupons. I always ALWAYS forget them. Mike get's so upset with me about this. A lot of these tips are due to Mike. He is SO CHEAP, but it helps A LOT so thanks babe for showing me the way.

Let me preface this by saying non of these "tips" are ground breaking and I'm sure a lot of you do all of these things but just in case and because I've been asked about it....here is what we do.



Set a food budget and do your best to stick to it. Whatever you think is feasible and doable for your family.

Buy in bulk. If you have a BJ's, Costco, or anything like that go there. We hit up BJ's once a month, most of the time, some months we just go to the grocery store, depending on how our budget worked out for that month. BJ's saves but can get expensive so we don't always go. But when we do we get the kids school snacks, drinks, chicken nuggets (etc), fruit, meats, diapers, wipes, eggs, paper towels, toilet paper, etc. It's usually a big expense up front but lasts us all month, and sometimes longer depending on the item. You've really got to plan out what you're going to get there and this is one place I never EVER forget my coupons!! They have the best ones!

Once a week shop at Market Basket. Not sure if you have one near you but if you do, stop shopping at your regular grocery store and go here. EVERYTHING is on sale and/or cheaper and it's all the same stuff as at other grocery stores. I don't know how they do it but this mama is thankful they do! I've noticed at Shaws and Stop n Shop (again local grocery chains here in Massachusetts) EVERYTHING is 2 for $5 or 2 for $6. Well, Market Basket has all the same stuff but majority of it is 2 for $4. Which doesn't seem like a big difference but it add's up. The first time Mike and I went to Market Basket (because we always grocery stop together...it's our date night, no really, it is..) we filled up two whole carts for $200. So, if possible find a grocery store with significantly cheaper prices. It sounds like a no-brainer but my most frugal neighbor had no idea how much cheaper Market Basket was than Stop n Shop. It's true some people get stuck in their own way and don't buy into the hype. But this is one thing I can tell you is worth it. It saves us so much!

If you can, buy store brand. My mom and I get in arguments about this...she doesn't believe me that it's all tastes exactly the same but IT DOES. Love you Mom! Again, it's going to save you like $1 on each item to just buy the store brand stuff. It also add's up. There are some things I won't buy store brand but most things we do. Examples are milk, butter, bread, mini bagels, snacks, lunch meats, pasta, shredded cheese, cream cheese, waffles, apple slices, herbs, seasoning, sauces, water, etc.

More expensive doesn't always mean better. For example, my kids LOVE pizza. Instead of ordering out at $14 a pizza we grab 3 frozen pizza's for $10 at the grocery store and everyone is happy.I can get 3 Red Baron Pizza's for $10 and feed my entire family with leftovers. They're delicious too and are ready faster than if we had it delivered.

Now on to lunch meats, which is what the kids and Mike live on during the week. This is just a small tip but when I order my meat at the deli I order a specific type say Honey Ham and then tell them to give me whatever is on sale. To us, it all tastes the same.

This one seems pretty self explanatory but before you grab your favorite item off the shelf look at what's on sale that week. For example, I know it's really bad for us but my sister and I like soda. So depending on what's on sale we switch between Pepsi and Coke. I honestly like Diet Coke better than Diet Pepsi but to save a few bucks I tolerate it. Mike does this with Gatorade and Vitamin Water too. We switch between brands of all different types of food and drinks. If nothing is on sale for a particular item that week, we don't buy it. This one was hard for me to get used to but I'll just buy something else that is on sale to make that week. It is EXTREMELY rare for the Sasses to buy ANYTHING that isn't on sale. (I do this with clothes too!)

Speaking of sales, try your hardest to not buy things simply because they are on sale. I've seen people with so much meats piling up in their freezer, or a bunch of sides that they usually wouldn't buy, that they will never end up using but they felt like they had to buy it because it was on sale. Only buy what you absolutely NEED. Do not do not do not impulse buy!

MEAL PLAN! This is by far my biggest tip. Figure out what you are making for the week. What days your kids are going to buy lunch/bring lunch. What night your going to order take out because you won't have enough time to cook. Figure out EXACTLY what you need for the week. I hate hate HATE throwing out food we didn't use. So I write it all down.

For example:

Monday night - Spaghetti & Meatballs - garlic bread
Tuesday - Tacos // Quesadillas 
Wednesday - Baked Chicken - carrots, green beans, stuffing
Thursday - Frozen Pizza - salad
Friday - Pork Chops - corn, potatoes, salad
Saturday - TAKE OUT // Leftovers 
Sunday - Chicken Broccoli & Ziti - rolls

This is just a random example. But it gives you an idea. I'll get everything I need for the week and that's it. Plus, there's no guessing game come 5 o'clock night after night. We already know what we are having. One of my friends has a chalkboard she uses as a weekly menu board in her kitchen. I think its a great idea!

That brings me to my next tip. Write a list!! Don't go in blind and impulse buy. It's the worst thing you can do and the easiest way to go over your budget. Write a list, look at fliers, figure out exactly what you need, what's on sale and only buy that. This and meal planning also makes it easier to eat healthy. 

These are all super simple things that in the end will add up to save you a lot of money. If you're better with coupons than I am you'll save even more. This is what works for us and hopefully you can pick up something here or there that'll work for you too. I hope this helps!



Let me know in the comments if you have any tips I may have missed!